It is the official beginning of the end of a once-ambitious film star's political career.
Superstar-turned-politician Chiranjeevi's political party, the Praja Rajyam Party, is now officially a part of the Congress. The Central Election Commission has sent a letter to the state Election Commission in Buddha Bhavan in this regard.
Senior party leader Ramachandraiah said the PRP had received a notification from the Election Commission, and that this letter would be handed over to Assembly Speaker Nadendla Manohar shortly.
With this development, the 18 PRP MLAs will now be treated as Congress MLAs, and the Congress' count in the Assembly will now be 173. The Congress also has the support of 3 independents and 7 MIM MLAs.